How accurate is the q-tip test?

[Darbla]

I know a lot of you use sniffies of q-tips/cotton swabs dipped in an FO to guage the scent, but how accurate does that really represent the FO in a finished product? You know they're different OOB than in a product, so it seems like the cotton swab would be closer to the OOB scent than the (usually better) finished product scent.

Darbla

[Camay]

You could try it for yourself and find out...

[CareBear]

No it's not accurate. You don't get any of the chemistry going on, the synergies, you can't sense how a base will mask or change a fragrance...

All you know is how less of the stuff smells when put on a cotton swab.

I see no point to it myself - and I believe people generally use them to judge potential blends rather than trying to predict how an FO will perform in a product. Yanno - one swab of A + one swab of B...

[ForHisGlory]

I agree. I don't think it's all that accurate.

When I test pour a FO, and I do this w/o adding dye, I also pour a votive. I store these in a polypro bag and save it until I have another votive that I want to see if they work together. I melt the same portions together and I think that is the best way.

At least it's what I want to do.

Also, when I pour a set of container candles, I always have one votive amount left. I save these also to test later. I keep them stored in a dark, cool place.

[Candybee]

I have tried the Q-tip method to get a 'sense' of what a fragrance combo would smell like. But mostly I find I can't get a good enough sniffie out of them to judge in any case.

The only way to be certain is to put the scent in your application.

[Scented]

I don't think it's that accurate either, but I think it gives a rough idea.

[Sister Kya]

I never use q-tip to gauge a scent. If I want to get a sense of the dry down for an FO, I'll use some blotter paper but not a q-tip.

The only time I really see folks taking about q-tips is when one person wants to sniff a scent that sounds good on paper. Then I see them send "sniffies" back and forth that way.

In my house, blotter paper is the way to go.

[scentsme]

I think to send as sniffies in order to get a "rough" idea of what a scent smells like OOB, it usually is fine. Also, to get a "rough" idea of what 2 or more scents "may" smell together as a blend, it's a way to get a "rough idea". I only do B&B, so for me, it helps when I want to come up with fun blends. I know that a FO in application often smells much different(& sometimes totally different) than OOB, but I'm weird in some ways: if I HATE a FO OOB, 90% of the time, it gets thrown in the box of oils I don't use. I know that's not fair to the FO( ), but it's ok, because I have way too many FO's to begin with! But yea, IMO, the whole Q-tip thing is really for a quick whiff to quench your OOB curiosity(& sometimes works to trade sniffies, especially if it's a really expensive oil & someone can only spare a swab).

[Candlebuddy]

I agree, it gives you a sense of what two or more combined fragrances will "possibly" smell like. This method really helped alot when I was trying to come up with a coffee blend.